Pignan

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.Vignogoul Abbey

.Olive Festival

.Multimedia library ‘La Gare’

.AOC Languedoc

Located 10 km west of Montpellier, Pignan conceals many treasures ; A chateau which became the city hall with its beautiful garden open to the public; the abbey of Vignogoul whose church can be visited and which puts on many concerts, choirs and sacred dances ; the vineyards of course and the olives, a tradition celebrated in October during the Olive Festival.

Pignan village has preserved much of its medieval past : winding streets, covered passages, tiny courtyards, houses nestled one against the other, the 11th century square keep called the common Tower, remains of a first feudal castle…

To visit: the Pignan chateau’s parc open to the public. In Louis XIII style, the chateau which is now the mairie was built in the 17th century by Daviler, the architect who designed the Arc de triomphe of Montpellier.

Also worth visiting, the Abbey of Vignogoul.

Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, this Cistercian abbey was occupied by nuns until the Revolution.

It was then re occupied from the end of the 19th century.

Several congregations succeeded each other until the arrival of the Franciscan sisters in 1930 who founded an orphanage there. Today, the sisters have left completely but it remains a children’s home. You can only visit the abbey church and the vegetable garden where there are some ancient varieties of vegetables cultivated.(check the opening times).